Process for treating printed or dyed fabrics



Marc 27, 1928.

R. W. JACOBY PROCESS FOR -TREATING PRINTED OR DYED FABRICS Filed May s.1926 K aging apparatus as above referred to Patented Maf. 27, 192s.

UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAYMOND w. moon, or roREsr HILLS, NEW YoRx, AssIaNoR To TRE Remax co.,

A CORPORATION F MASSAOHUSETT rRocEss RoR rRRarINe PRINTED oR mmmFABRICS.

Application mea nay s,

My invention relates to what is known as vat color printing or dyeing,or to discharge printing and particularly to aging or treating vat colorprints or dyes or discharge prints or any other roduct where a reductionis necessar by suitable reagents, such as, with hydrosu phite.

On-e of the objects vof my invention is to produce an improved processapplicable to apparatus through which the fabrics being aged may bepassed durin the reducing action Without the usual disadvantagesaccompanying the methods and apparatus heretofore used for this purpose.As 1s Well-known, it is essential in such treatment of printed or. dyegoods, that oxygen of the atmosphere should be kept away from theportions of the fabric undergoing chemical reactions. This is usuallyaccomplished Heretofore the apparatus involving the usual or standard;construction has embodied` heating coils and a supply of live steamintroduced into the box or ager which, at the point or points ofentrance and exit of the fabric, is rovided with suction devices such asfan b owers to carry away the steam used during the process. In order toproduce the'proper reduction I have .foundit necessar not only to havethe proper degree of eat, but also suliicient moisture to prevent thevapor from becomingl dry. The chemical reactions which take place in theproduce a considerableamount of heat which may cause the steam to reacha temperature of 224 F. or even more. This excess heat producessuperheated steam which retards the action and also causes non-uniformternperatures in different parts of the box. This causes uneven chemicalreaction'and results in uneven effects in the goods.

In order to overcome such difliculties it has been proposed to have aslight amount of water retained in the bottom of the box so that theheat may be absorbed and the steam vapors kept at a proper degree ofmoisture but this has not been effective, as

i926. serial No. 106,394.'

the water is too Afar below the points in the apparatus where theheat-is generated; furthermore, the water is usually separated from themain portion of the box by a layer of shin les Vto prevents attering theoods an by a coverin of abrio such as urlap. Also the heate vapor tendsto remain in the upper part of the boxas its temperatureis increased sothat the heat will not descend and be absorbed' by the water at thebottom of the box.

Brieiy, my invention comprises a provision or means 1n the aging box orchamber for evenl controlling the temperature throughout `the interiorthereof so that the fabric passing therethrough will be at all times incontact with the necessary degree of moisture contained in the watervapors so that the proper reduction will take place. Several ways ofdistributing moisture and for the following description constitutes oneform of an apparatus which I at resent deem preferable4 for carrying outt is' invention.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. l indicates a vertical longitudinals'ection of .my improved apparatus;

Fig. 2 isa plan view thereof` showing the top partly broken away; E

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing details of the means forfurnishing moisture to the interior of the box or vat;

Fi 4 is a detailed view of the means for supp ying moisture; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view thereof. v

Referring to the figures of the drawings with an opening-3 through whichthe cloth` may enter and emerge. The openingy 3 is provided with meansto suck away the steam which would tend to be discharged through saidopening, said means referably being a fan or blower 5 having a plpe 6leading from the openingl 3,the inner end of which con-` nects with ahorizontal chamber 4, which is also provided with a slot through whichthe fabric passes as indicated. A steam pipe 7 having a controllingvalve -7 enters the box at a point adjacent the bottom and is providedwith series of small openings 8 through which the steam is dischargedinthe form of lOl " jets.- A pipe 9 forms a drain for the condensedsteam which may run to the bottom of the box and is provided with a trapas indicated, to maintain the water at a definite level. The interior ofthe box is provided with two series of rolls and 11 over which the cloth12, being treated, passes successively in parallel runs as indicated inFig. 1. Between the steam pipe 7 and the lowermost roll-s 10, baffles13,'usually known as shingles? are inserted in order to give an evendistribution of the steam throughout the lower portion of the box andpreventwater from spattering on goods. At the upper portion ofthe boxbetween and below the rolls 11 4arel placed a series of troughs 14 and14 which extend across the box from one side to the other and aresupplied with water through main .supply conduits or troughs 15 and 15',having branches 16 and 16 provided with valves 17 and 17 and which passthrough the walls of the box and are adapted to discharge into thetroughs 14.

The height of the water in the troughs 15 and 15 is controlled by floatvalves 18 and 18 connected with the water supply pipe 19. If for anyreason'these valves should become inactive to, shut o the water at theproper point, the water would overowthe edges of the trough 15 and '15without raising its level in the troughs 14 and 14. Preferably thiswater should be approximately 212o F. in order not to produce too greata coolingy action in the chamber of the apparatus. The tops of thetroughs 14 and 14 are provided with vents 2O which. prevent pressureaccumulating in the troughs when they are supplied with water. Thebottoms of the troughs 14 and 14 are provided with slots through whichpass sheets of conductive material 21 so that the water contained withinthe troughs will be conducted downward through the action of gravity andcapillary action thereby keeping said sheets moist, which moisture-mayevaporate over their entiresurfaces and be absorbed b the steam withwhich the box is lilled. his sheet material may be an suit- 'ablesubstance forming liquid con uctors such as absorbent material likefabric, felt, metallic screening or gauze to which the liqp uid willadhere. Other materials adapted to produce the same result will beobvious to those skilled in the art. Adjacent the lower end of theliquid conducting sheets 21 are a second series ofv transverse troughs22 and 22'` which aresupported'between the ysides of the box and areadapted to receive any water that may drip from the sheets 21 therebypreventing said water from drippingon tothe rolls 10 located below thesame. The troughs 22 and 22 are preferably provided w1th outlet pipes 23and 23 adjacent one end so that the water may be discharged through theshingles 13 into the bottom of the box without Asplashing onto thefabric or rolls.

The top of the box is preferably provided with hollow heating plates 24,supplied with steam, through pipes 25, as is usual, to maintain' theproperl temperature in the upper Aportion of the box. The box is alsopreferably covered on the sides and top with heat insulating materialsuch as asbestos,'indi cated at 26.

From the above description it will be evident that as the cloth 12proceeds through the aging box alternatelyv over therolls 10 and 11, itwill be subjected to the vapor issuing from the surfaces of theconductive sheets 21. Thus the temperature within the box will always bemaintained at a point to produce the necessary reactions and noinjurious superheated steam will be formed. The degree of moisturewithin the aging box may be regulated by controlling the entrance yofthe steam throughvthe valve 7, and also by controlling the inlet of thewater through the valves 17 and 17. Obviously the suction blower 5should not be run at a greater speed than is sufficient tol withdraw theexcess steam and should not reduce the pressure within thebox'substantially below atmospheric pressure unless it should be desiredto produce the reaction under a pressure less than that of atmosphericpressure.

Having thus described this form of -my invention, what I .claimand'desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In the process of aging or reducing printed or dyed fabric, the stepwhich comprises causing the excess heat of chemical reactions to beabsorbed by supplying moisture in the immediate vicinity of thepointswhere said reactions take place, so that its evaporation willabsorb the excess heat thereof and maintain the heat carrying medium asa saturated vapor.

2. In the process of aging or reducing printed or dyed fabric, the stepwhich comprises causing the 'excess heat of chemical reactions to beabsorbed by supplying water in the immediate vicinity of the pointswhere said reactions take place, so that its evaporation will .absorbthe excess heat thereof and maintain the heat carrying medium assaturated steam.

3. The process of agi'n or reducing printed or dyed fabric to e iminatethe excess heat generated by chemical action, which comprises supplyingheat to produce the desired reactions .and simultaneously maintainingsaidfabric at all points in an atmosphere of hydrous vapor by supplyingmoisture to prevent superheating thereof.

4. The process of aging or reducing printed or dyed fabric to eliminatethe heat generated by chemical action, which comprises supplying heat toproduce'the desired reactions and simultaneously maintaining said fabricat all points in an atmosphere of satsired reactions, and simultaneouslymainv urated steam by supplying water vapor to taining said fabric atall points in saturatedn prevent superheating thereof. water vapor atthe required 'degree of `satu 10 5. The process of aging or reducingprintration by regulating the supply of said heat 5 ed or dyed fabric toeliminate the excess and said water vapor.

heat generated by chemical action which Signed this 1st day of May 1926.comprlses, supplying heat to produce the de- RAYMOND W. J ACOBY.

